won't install, won't uninstall

[tatterdemalion]

I am doing some diagnositics on my computer so I am installing software on a partially assembled rig. I the mobo, the HD and the vid card installed. I then tnstalled the game civilization 3 on my computer. It tested and ran fine. I then installed a modem and USB PCI card on the computer. I had a registry error that shut down the machine. I let the OS repair the error, restored a previous registry and then machine rebooted just fine. I then tried to install a patch to the Civ3 game. The patch installed fine, but when I went to play the game, I got a message saying that there was no game installation detected. All the files were there, so I figured that the registry restoration messed up the installation. I tried to reinstall the game, but got an error message. So I uninstalled the patch - that went fine. But when I tried to uninstall the original game, the uninstall aborted and a message came up saying that 'installation maintenance was completed' The game did not play, of course. Everytime I try to uninstall the game, I get the same error message. In effect, all the files are there, but it will not let me uninstall. I have tried it from the Add/Remove programs control panel and from the game folder option.

specs, if necessary:
p3 450 mhz, ECS P6BAT -A+ mobo, Via Apollo Pro, 256 MD SDRAM, GeForce 3 TI 200, integrated sound, PS/2 mouse, normal keyboard, OS WIn98SE.

[Rasbelin]

Okay, there's two ways to do it.

1. Parse the registry, do extensive checks, remove any files needed to be removed and reinstall the program.

2. This is the better one, because you get a clean platform to play on (but not mess around).

I. Get the latest drivers from manufacturer websites (GPU, VIA's sound chipset drivers and VIA 4in1 driver package).
Save them on diskettes or any other removable media.

II. Format your hard drive.

III. Install Windows.

IV. Run Windows Update twice; yes, twice because some newer updates require that you've upgraded the OS before. But do install all the updates available both times you run WU.

V. Install all drivers needed (start with VIA's 4in1, then sound and after that graphics; then continue with the rest), using the new ones and the old ones for those accessories you didn't get new drivers to.

VI. Install the newest version of DirectX (8.1).

VII. Make sure to adjust all system settings and configure the GUI environment back to "normal" (that means the desktop and other GUI environment settings you usually have).

IIX. Reboot and then remove any temporary files floating around.

IX. Install Civ III. Testrun and see if it works. If it does, don't patch, unless you have the latest one 1.29F.

If it works, happy civing!

Reference:

VIA Arena - http://www.viaarena.com
DirectX - http://www.microsoft.com/windows/dir...oads/drx81.asp
Civ III 1.29F patch - http://apolyton.net/civ3/files/patches/civ3v129f.exe

[tatterdemalion]

Ras'

Thanks for the detailed instructions. I am pretty new to mucking about inside my computer, but are you telling me that the most reliable method of fixing a registry error is a reformat? I have reformatted my computer about once per week for the last month trying to solve some other problems too. This is ... is ... incredible.

[Rasbelin]

Let's be honest and straight. With all my not so remarkable skills and experience in PC technology, most Windows with more than average problem with system registry are better to be reinstalled than tried to save as they currently are. Often faster; and hell of a lot of easier. But you do need to make exclusive backups of your personal files and saved game files (i.e. Civ II). And if you follow these instructions and don't install a bunch of programs that you set to run automatically when Windows start, or use anti-virus software for virus protection, do regular backups, keep software and drivers updated; and be careful and not mess around with the system, you should have a stable and working PC. But there's no guarantee that you'll get one. Just try to do the next clean installation of the system without any hurry. Do restart the system when asked, and make sure you do the installations carefully; check the installation settings.

[Rasbelin]

Forgot to mention that it might be a good idea to print those installation instructions, if you don't remeber them. And you can use them as a checklist.

Any questions?

[tatterdemalion]

thanks !!!

Originally posted by Rasbelin
Forgot to mention that it might be a good idea to print those installation instructions, if you don't remeber them. And you can use them as a checklist.

Any questions?

Well, I had just reformatted a couple of days ago so I went ahead and risked the registry parsing option. It seems to have worked for now. I installed Civ3 and loaded the patch last night and played the game for several hours w/o problems. Thank you very, very much for the detailed instructions, though.

You read my mind. I was just getting ready to print this thread out. I will then make 5 extra copies, bronze it, frame it and put it in a safety deposit box.

If you are asking me if I have other questions..... Oh boy, do I ever........ They are kinda off-topic to Civ3, so I will understand if you do not want to address them.

About a month ago I ran into trouble trying to defrag my HD. It would halt in the middle of a defrag and not do anything. It had been about two years since the last reformat and reinstallation of the OS, so I decided to go ahead and back everything up then start from scratch. I reformated the HD, and reinstalled the OS (WinME at the time).

After that I had incessant problems with the sound. I play two games: Civ3 and Mechwarrior 4. MW is pretty graphic intensive. It plays music during the installation utility. Now, the music play slowly when I try to install it. If I go ahead and let the game install, sometimes it works and sometimes it just gives an error message. Even if it works, the mouse moves slowly over the menus and sometimes locks up the machine. If I can launch a session, it plays for about a minute, then locks up the machine. I have loaded updated drivers for the sound card and the video card, I have run recent and older VIA 4-in-1 drivers for the mobo. I have installed and reinstalled DirectX 8.1. I switched from WinME to Win98SE. I have made sure that the soundcard has its own IRQ. I removed the soundcard and used the integrated sound on the mobo. (with updated mobo sound drivers) I have reformatted and reinstalled about 4 times. Nothing has worked.

Well, I seem to be able to get everything except MW4 to work. I *think* I might have found one problem in that my PCI USB card might have been causing the corrupt registry entries. At least they stopped when I removed it.

I have heard that VIA chipsets do not like soundblaster card, but everything worked fine a month ago.

If you have any advice or troubleshooting steps, like in your previous post, I would be very grateful.

* Win98SE, direct X 8.1
* P3 450 Mhz processor
* Elite P6BAT -A+ mobo vers. 1.2, uses VIA Apollo Pro Plus chipset, using VIA 4-in-1 v34 drivers
* 256 MB PC133 SDRAM (one stick)
* 10.2 GB 5400 rpm HD Western Digital
* Visiontek GeForce 3 Ti 200 64 MB DDR AGP, using lastest NVidia 28.42 drivers
* Soundblaster PCI 128 soundcard, using latest (Nov-99) drivers
* Digicom V.90 Modem 56k
* Xircom 2 port USB PCI card
* standard 10/100 NIC (forget the brandname)
300 W AMD approved power supply
* LG 40X CDrom
* standard floppy
* 250 MB IOMEGA USB ZIP drive
* Logitech USB optical mouse
* MS Intellitype USB keyboard

[Rasbelin]

First of all disable the sound chipset in the CMOS setup (that means BIOS configuration program). And also make sure that the gameport is disabled (the one on the mobo).

If that didn't help, it looks like you may have a hardware compatibility conflict, but I'm sorry, but there really doesn't seem to be any visible faults in my opinion. So try to remove some of the not-so-needed-for-running-the-PC gadgets, like the SB and the modem. Then if it works fine, add one component at the time and see how things work.

Hmmm...

[tatterdemalion]

CMOS setup? Is that the blue screen of options you get when you hit 'del' during the boot-up screen? How do I disable the gameport on the mobo?

[Rasbelin]

Originally posted by tatterdemalion
CMOS setup?

The program you basically adjust your system's core settings with.

Is that the blue screen of options you get when you hit 'del' during the boot-up screen?

Exactly.

How do I disable the gameport on the mobo?

Use the CMOS setup screen.

Disable these features:

Integrated Peripherals -> OnBoard Midi Port
Integrated Peripherals -> OnBoard Game Port
Integrated Peripherals -> AC'97 Audio

These were the ones if using AMI's BIOS. Award uses most commonly about the same, so you should easily be able to figure out what to disable.